Sisterly Love
by LucksGman
Summary: Years after another great war between Inklings and Octarians, a new order rose, and changed the once colorful world of Splatoon into a much darker society. From the crime lords of the streets, bitter rivals from the past, and a dark presence in the law itself; the once famous sisters of Inkopolis must survive in this new world. The tale also following the story of others...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my readers, let me introduce myself. I am Gman. A bored writer who wants to empty his head full of wacky and wild ideas. You see, writing stories has always been a fun pass time for me. So I've come to this site to write some! I mainly want to write as a way to put my writing skills to the test and hopefully grow from these stories. That and... Because I've been bored lately. And boredom is not fun.**

 **So for my first story, it will be a dark tale involving the beautiful duo of Splatoon's Squid Sisters! Characters who are interesting and have a lot of potential to build a story for. Basically, for this first story, I've taken the Squid Sisters and placed them into a new world. A world that is more gritty, deep, and mature. It sounds stupid and crazy, but I'm not here to think about how crazy the ideas are. Just to throw them out and hope the madness entertains you all! With this particular story, I was inspired by dark takes of lighter game series from other writers. So, shout outs to them!**

 **Anyway, with my introduction out the way… I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Splatoon franchise; it belongs to Nintendo and its creators. The following fanfic is Rated M for language and other mature elements.**

 **Chapter 1**

…

It was a chilly night with light rain. Just another day… in the streets of Inkopolis City.

And it was days like this, _that I absolutely hated_.

Days where it was rainy and cold. And days where I had to spend any amount of time standing around the streets of this city.

 _God, this place is a hellhole_.

That's what I thought to myself, as I took in my current environment. A city that was _much_ different than how I used to remember it.

The city I used to know was bright and colorful, with all sorts of diverse shades of spirit traversing the city streets. It used to be a place of happiness and it used to have this... magical vibe to it. One that I almost can't put into any words but one: _Fresh_.

"Fresh", as we called it, was a type of swagger and attitude that everyone had. It was a proud and innocent spirit that all the Inklings and other sea creatures carried. No matter the age, sea race, background, or anything… anyone could truly be "Fresh" if they strived to be the best.

And I mean the best of themselves, and… the best in the crown jewel of our society; Turf Wars. A competition where we used ridiculous amounts of special paint to compete in all sorts of crazy challenges. This particular plaza being one of the many famous spots for them.

The amount of fun and the carefree nature we had during this period was a whole different era. Preparing for the upcoming Turf War matches, checking out the shops for stylish clothing/gear, and all sorts of other things that are simply just memories now.

Because now… our society was nothing like this. Inkopolis Plaza… how it had fallen.

As I looked around, listening to the bustling of the city, I took notice of our current culture and society.

For the most part, now the plaza is for older Inklings and other sea creatures to walk through. Be it to get to work or anywhere else important.

The older shops were nearly empty now. Overshadowed by the new bigger shops inside and outside the plaza. These shops were run by stronger, corporate brands. Brands whose focus was more on obtaining as much money as possible in order to grow bigger.

Because of this, the plaza as a whole felt more industrial now and the tall towering buildings of the new companies stand over the plaza itself with their light-killing shadows.

This particular area of the plaza, that had once been popular for years, had evolved into a dead zone in the midst of the giant city. I looked around and it was mostly the same as I remember… well, if it looked as gray and lifeless as it does now.

Another big difference was all the rough looking Inklings and sea creatures lounging around different corners of the streets. Unlike the innocent, law-abiding sea creatures who passed by, the ones on the sidelines were different. Many of them were either gang members, homeless, and/or dealers.

 _And oh boy, the dealers._

They were typically either selling drugs, or… most likely lowkey selling weapons.

Because weapons in Inkopolis City, and no less this area of it, were hard to come by. And I mean _any_ kind of weapon. Whether it be related to Turf Wars, or not.

Ever since the new government regulations by the high branch Koi Council, things had been this way. And don't get me started on the council.

 _The Koi Council..._ Their once little party had been formed by Inkling veterans who fought in the 2nd Great Inkling-Octarian War. The events of that war led them to pursing change in our society; in order to prevent another war on that scale ever again. But their rise to power was far from as innocent as their initial cause.

It started like any lie does, where it was originally about security after the attacks we took from the war. The toll that war had taken on our people and the other sea creatures was heavy. So it made people desperate for strong leadership, no matter what form it came in. And that's the opening the council took advantage of.

And we all know the ending of it. All the promises they made all ended in lies. Which led to more lies. Until they had gained everything they ever truly wanted. _Control._

Funny I of all people currently rag on about lying. Because that is what me and my sister had done not too long ago. **Lie**.

We were currently sitting in this rain under one of the bus station benches with the small roofs for cover.

Why were we out here? Because, life isn't the same sweet and smooth ride it once was for us. We had to work, and not in the same way that we used to.

At the thought of that, I began to think about the past... times that seemed so long ago…

"Marie."

I was snapped out of my mind thoughts by my name being called. Up until about a moment ago, I had been thinking about all this because I always had when things seemed quiet and slow. But who else to interrupt those moments, then my sister.

"Marie, is he gonna show up? Are you sure he said to meet tonight?" she asked.

Question after question. That's always the way my dear Callie tended to be. She was just so curious when she seemed to not understand something. And right now, she was getting inpatient and bored. She was an energetic girl, and liked to be doing something active.

It was so obnoxious. Not that I could blame her, considering that I was inpatient too. Just in my own less annoying way.

"Callie, I said to just wait and be quiet." I calmly state; though clearly not in a patient tone.

This garnered a frown from Callie. As she went to just twiddling her thumbs and staring around nervously.

Her frustration was understandable though because this boy was late. He should have been- oh and speak of the crab. Here he is. Coming around one of the street corners looking for us.

"He's here." I nudge Callie as a cue of sorts.

We then both stand up and grab what we brought.

I'm pretty much in this little business doing this often. I come here on the usual weekday and make trades with a friend by the name of Sheldon.

Sheldon is a short, nerdy type of crab who is my partner in the field of weapon dealing. And a damn good one, considering he was one of the best weapon makers in the world. He also had connections to some of the biggest names of the underworld. So yeah, he was a pretty popular guy (despite his weird personality).

He was currently wearing his usual military-like outfit. Except his shoes were… very causal. Probably in his rush to get here, he didn't have time to pick out the best matching shoes.

Not like me and Callie were looking fashionable either. We just wore our pink and purple matching pajama pants with our light rain jackets. With Callie's being her favorite color pink and mine being green. It wasn't raining too hard to fully dress, so we didn't.

Sheldon walked over and looked over his shoulders, looking around for anyone who might be watching I presume. The crab was being dramatically paranoid. And being too obvious. If someone _was_ watching, they'd know something is up by now.

"Come on. Just take this." I say in my usual annoyed tone.

I was essentially a person who took requests for weapons people in this city wanted under the table.

Callie also tended to help with this work as well; even if it wasn't her actual job. Basically, we were messengers for Sheldon. We didn't deliver any of the weapons and never really saw them. We just took the orders and delivered the orders on typed up papers with any necessary specific details. _Usually_ that was our routine…

But sometimes, the people associated with the orders we take find it too hard to contact Sheldon or his many contacts that are underground. And that's due to how hard they try to hide themselves from the laws of the Koi Council.

So if they can't reach them, they will come to us. We aren't as low profiled and they see us as bigger parts in the weapon dealing process. In cases like these, we have to play delivery girls.

Our last client needed a return to get his Splattershots re-tooled. So we had to meet Sheldon in this usual spot to make a little trade.

The problem with this specific case, is that Sheldon needed this done in short notice. We had to **lie** to our grandfather to leave the house late at night. We had wandered around until it was around the time Sheldon could come and finally meet us. And even when we got here, it took time for Sheldon to actually get here himself.

I grabbed the case containing the Splattershot weapons and push it over to Sheldon. The case was on a small wagon I brought. This wagon was from a neighbor. We usually borrowed it for heavier cargo and would return it later.

"Sorry I was late Marie. Had to make a few stops for other stuff in my line of work. You know." Sheldon said.

I just simply nodded. The crab had such a squeaky voice. I swear, it was hard to take him seriously sometimes.

"Try not to keep us waiting next time Sheldon! I was bored." Callie said, happy she could speak to someone who wasn't intolerant like me.

As opposite to my monotone voice, Callie spook in a very pop girl fashion. With such attitude and high pitch. When she wanted to sound more charming (especially to guys), she went for a slower and more seductive lower pitch voice.

"I'm sorry Callie! I didn't even know you were coming! Figure with it especially being late at night, your sister wouldn't even let you go this time!" he said jokingly.

But he wasn't wrong. He knows how, in some cases, I don't like letting Callie assist in my work. I preferred her staying with her weekly daytime job at Jelly Fresh; a local clothes store.

This was for a good few reasons. Firstly, she was irritating as hell with her energy and constant questions. It was like babysitting while in the middle of doing important work, as opposed to having someone who is of help all the time. The other, bigger, reason was the most important one.

My line of work is **dangerous**.

Everything about this little job I do for our small family was _illegal_ and because of this, I risked a lot on the line doing it. You'd think especially being a former celebrity, it'd make it more dangerous; being very recognizable. But somehow this ended up being what I do for a living currently.

I only let Callie come this time because it was in such short notice. I could barely think of how I was going to get out to get this done. Callie was bored, and wanted to tag along when she noticed I was going to head out. You see, Gramps didn't know about any of the details of my work but Callie knew a lot herself.

But in this case, I didn't need her for anything. I just wanted to go and get this done without the extra Callie would add. But she threatened to tell our grandfather if she couldn't come along. I would've fucking punched her in her bratty mouth if I hadn't just not been in a mood for childish drama. Something I usually put up with when it comes to Callie.

So I just told Gramps, me and Callie were simply going to see a movie. Callie tagging along could get me a better chance at Gramps letting me go without hassle anyway. Callie was so innocent to him, with me being seen as the "rebellious" of the two of us. It was such bullshit but whatever.

My thoughts go from all this back to Sheldon as he counts the pay.

"Mm… alright girls, here's the benefits! Thanks so much for this. Sorry for calling about it this way, especially this late and-"

"Its fine, its fine. Thank you Sheldon." I cut off his apology and took the money.

We got the money, so that was usually it. I meet Sheldon, give him a weapon order or whatever else, and take the money; then move on.

Sounds easy, but I do need to put in a lot of effort in this job. I needed to keep my work low profile, hide the weapons, and make all sorts of important moves for me and my family's safety. If I messed up in an area, it wouldn't just mean being fired. It could be a step towards a terrifying fate. Be it prosecution by the cruel law, being targeted by the ruthless gangs by rubbing them the wrong way, or other things along the line.

Hence the _dangerous_ element of it.

We then begin to leave the plaza by walking across the main area and down the street that led to one of the many walkways home. Luckily it started to clear up, so I decided we needed a detour.

 _I need a smoke._ I mentally say to myself.

Usually when a pay occasion comes around, I take time to count it out and split it up for what I'd budget. A budget is _much_ needed in a city like this. It could eat up lots of Cash from you in seconds if you weren't careful. But at the moment, I knew one thing I needed with this money. A smoke, so I could chill for a second.

See, with the lie me and Callie told Gramps, I already knew where it was going. We were going to be late and in trouble. And disobeying his rules and pissing him off basically meant, when we got back, we were in for some rough shit before we could go to bed properly.

As an "old school" man, and especially with his military experience, he sees the idea of discipline important. To just be blunt, our grandfather still uses corporal punishment. Our parents had done it, so it was nothing new, but they stopped punishing us that way when we got older. Gramps insists on it if we, in his eyes, "get too out of line".

There are many times, where I and especially Callie have avoided it because we didn't do anything that bad or he wasn't in the mood. But considering we lied, wandered the streets of the city for hours, and didn't come back till way past curfew. Yep, he was definitely gonna beat both our asses.

 _I don't deserve all this. I should just stand up to him._ I thought.

I had thought of it before, and have also thought about running away. Running from this city and stop dealing with all this stress. But I knew it was a stupid dream…

Ever since our parents died, our grandfather was there for us and took us into his apartment home. That's how we had lived after the glory days were over. A simple life and routine as opposed to our nonstop adventures as pop stars.

If I left this city, there was truly nothing for me. But that didn't stop me from questioning if sometimes… nothing was the better option.

I thought back to those days again and quickly snapped back to reality before I fell into that hole again. I sighed.

I had made a stop to one of the local shops near our home and bought a pack of cigarettes. With Callie (surprisingly quiet) in tow, I walked outside and looked around some of the corners. Usually, some of the Inklings that sat around outside in cliques had lighters. I wasn't the only one who liked a quick smoke. And being one of the more, I guess, attractive Inkling girls; I could just ask someone to light me a smoke real quick with little chance at rejection. Even if some of the more sleezy guys gave me suspect looks.

After getting a cigarette lit for me, I sat around a corner close to home with Callie. Just taking my time staring into the night and the city.

With all the quiet scenery and nothing really happening for a few minutes, this leads to Callie getting riled up again. Moving her feet in place and twiddling her fingers. And I knew what that would mean in a minute.

Before she can even harass me with a dumb question, I look over.

"Callie." I call her name and just blankly stare at her.

She responds with a small "Mm?" immediately, and looks up eagerly.

"You're not going to tell Gramps I was smoking again are you?" I simply ask.

I already knew we were in trouble. I just wanted to enjoy one quiet moment before the hell broke loose. Last thing I needed was another reason for Gramps to lose it.

Callie sort of blankly looked at me and looked at her feet. It shocked me she didn't give me a response. What with how talkative she usually was. She looked as if she had something on her mind.

"Callie, I asked you a question. You better keep your mouth shut." I said coldly.

She rubbed her arm and looked back up to the side away from me and finally responded after a moment.

"Not like it matters. Grandfather is gonna get on us both again when we get home anyway."

Seems like she wasn't oblivious. I expected her to lose track of time, and forget about it till Gramps started scolding and punishing us. But seems like she was bothered by it. She didn't get punished often and even I didn't. But the few times it happened, it never ended well. Callie hated it and I could see she was nervous in her expression. I felt bad, but in a way, I saw it as her deserving it. She didn't have to tag along with me. I knew what I was getting into, and even I could have told Sheldon to just wait and risk his employer getting a bit edgy.

But I didn't. I didn't want to make a mistake I might regret. And a punishment from our grandfather was nothing compared to if I did something that put Callie or him at risk. I didn't know what Sheldon's employer was like, and judging by how nervous Sheldon gets and the things I've heard on these big crime leaders… nothing good.

I looked over to Callie. "You shouldn't have come along then."

"I know." She said calmly.

"Don't tell him about the smoking, ok?" I said as I finished up.

Callie looked over with a much sadder expression now, "Ok…"

As we both stood up, I pulled her into a hug moments later. Which caught her off-guard judging by how she didn't immediately hug back.

I didn't usually do anything like this. Show affection to my sister and show vulnerability. But this night… between the thoughts to the past, the state of my life, and this moment of scenery. It got to me. Or maybe it was the smoke, I don't know.

Callie had tears in her eyes as she whimpered, "I love you Marie."

"Love you too sis." I simply replied.

We began making our way back home. After walking down this street with the shop, we just had to walk down a 1-mile road and we would arrive to the area with our apartment. It was just a little ways away from the city and towering buildings. We walked through to the gate and used our ID cards to get in. I then made my way up with Callie following behind in tow.

Clearly, Callie was nervous about the imminent punishment. I just wanted to get it over with so I could sleep. It'd been a long, stressful night. And while the quiet and nice city scenery in some ways helped, it just gave me more flashes to that past. The days that just felt so much more carefree and perfect. The time where we had friends, family, and strangers who seemed to live in a beautiful world together.

 _But it's not the past anymore._ I kept having to remind myself.

Instead, that beautiful world we used to delude ourselves in was split apart and everyone lives in their own world now. And it's all about striving for their idea of the world to survive.

We get up to the apartment with our number and it's at this point, Callie stands back a distance away. She stares forward looking nervous that we're here.

 _Such a drama queen._ I think to myself.

"Callie, being a bitch isn't going to make Gramps any less angry. Life will never hesitate before kicking you down. And when it's inevitable, you take it and learn from your mistakes." I tell her strictly and in a louder tone than my usual.

"In other words, stop being a bitch, and come take whatever punishment Gramps has for _both_ of us. You're not the only one who has to take it." I tell her.

Callie still stands there for a few moments but eventually walks forward with me towards the door. I take out a key and decide to unlock it as opposed to knocking; just in case Gramps was sleeping. And sure enough, the old man was.

We walk in and since, he was asleep, we head to our rooms.

You bet that Callie hurried her ass to her room and went to sleep fast. Almost put a smile on my face how afraid she was of him sometimes. I clearly had bigger fears.

But I was admittedly relieved Gramps was asleep. It meant I could at least get some sleep myself. I'm sure he would get on us both in the morning but deep down I hoped he had slept the whole time since we left and didn't even notice we were late.

I doubt we were that lucky though.

Either way, it was time to sleep because I had a long week ahead.

I walked into my room. The room had cream colored walls and the small brown fan on the ceiling. My bed with my deep green sheets looked as fine as I left it next to my desk. I took off my rain jacket and put it on my chair near my desk. I had only been wearing a light-green tank top all along and it was freezing. The heater made it feel better in here, so I didn't bother to put on a shirt.

I then laid down and checked some of my phone messages for a moment. Afterwards, I began to fall into my thoughts deeply again.

 _The past…_

No. I would not think about it again. For now, I needed to sleep. So I then shifted my mind to just that. Then drifted away into slumber.

* * *

 **A/N: That was the first chapter folks! Obviously it was a slower chapter due to being our starting chapter and me having to establish the beginning of these characters. Hoping to get the ball rolling with things more exciting as the story progresses! Until then, leave your thoughts and such in reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, it's Gman again! And… um… is anyone still here? Yeah… it has been quite some time since I've updated this story. A ridiculous amount of time. But that's going to change. I dropped this story for a bit due to lack of creativity and motivation. And of course… life. But that's seemed to change recently. I've hit a bit of a spark on where to take the story and I'm hoping to mold it into something people can enjoy!**

 **In my time on building this chapter, I went back and completely updated Chapter 1. A few story changes but mainly just updates to make it flow much better. So I recommend reading it to refresh if you haven't. I want to at least complete the first three chapters to give an idea of the full storyline. Kind of like the 3-episode rule with anime. From there, if I can't build up decent response, I might discontinue and try something else, ending the story earlier in case those who pass by later might read. Or I might fully continue it for the hell of it. So let's see what happens…** **Anyway, with that out the way… now it's time for Chapter 2! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Splatoon franchise; it belongs to Nintendo and its creators. The following fanfic is Rated M for language and other elements.**

 **Chapter 2**

It was morning.

I could feel the slight rays of the sun pouring from within my sole window on my face.

It was majestic how just from that, I could tell what time of the day it was. But on the other hand, I absolutely hated how it was what woke me up this early.

 _Damn blinding light… my eyes… I really need to get curtains..._

I slowly rose up from my bed and lazily removed my cover from over my body. Feeling still a little groggily from having to be up so late last night.

 _Ugh… I need more sleep._ I thought to myself.

I was about to lay back down, but I smelled a faint smell in the air. Breakfast.

When there was a slight burnt kind of smell in the air, that was the sign that Gramps was up and cooking breakfast for us. Usually it was also our cue to come and eat.

After, of course, we did our essential morning routine of brushing our teeth, washing our face, and all the important morning stuff.

Despite how hard I worked, I could still be quite a lazy girl at times honestly. And you bet that Gramps would get on my case about it if I didn't do every single little thing.

So I stood up to do just that, getting the morning piss out of the way first, and gradually moving onto everything else. My room had its own bathroom with a shower/bath, so outside of food and some other things, I didn't have to leave it for much. I spent a good amount of time in here.

As I finished up the morning essentials, I remembered last night.

My mind immediately wondered to if Gramps had an idea of me and Callie's outing. I assumed the worse and expected him to know about our going out for too long. But you can fucking bet that I wasn't going to bring it up, and would play as slick as possible to not deal with it.

Again, for me, I wasn't afraid of the punishment itself. I just saw it as a waste of my time to have to get scolded and get in an argument with Gramps again. Gramps especially loved to beat the message into my head the most and would treat me like I did something ungodly.

 _The suspense is killing me…_ I said to myself sarcastically.

So to just get the drama over with, I headed out of my room. After walking downstairs, I made my way to the kitchen.

The first thing I take note of as I enter is the strong burnt smell. Gramps seemed to be cooking pancakes, eggs, and some other stuff over the stove and finished not too long ago. His cooking was definitely still much to be desired as ever.

As I look towards the table, there he was. Alongside Callie, who bared a very pitiful look on her face. She had the same pajama pants from last night on but was wearing a plain white shirt.

Gramps was in his usual attire he always seemed to wear. His old light blue house bathrobe with long sleeves. His slippers that matched in color and wrapped around his small feet. He also wore his navy blue sweatpants. And it wouldn't be Gramps if he wasn't wearing his old army hat. That's our grandfather. Cap'n Cuttlefish; a high ranking ex-general in the Inkling army.

He was staring me down as I entered, and handed me my portion of the food he had cooked himself. Not a good sign. He had a neutral expression so far though, so it was hard to tell his exact emotion. But I'm sure I would know soon enough.

My focus shifted back to Callie as I took my seat. Callie was eyeballing me down as well. Not really saying anything and just poking at her food while making slight humming noises here and there. If Gramps wasn't aware of our outing, Callie sure was giving off suspicious signs.

She wouldn't last seconds if she ended up in one of those interrogation rooms I hear some of the authorities put accused criminals in. It was no simple "Good Cop, Bad Cop" either. They crack down _hard_ on those who push the law limits. That's how strict and serious our new leaders were on "cleaning up this city" as they say.

 _Like they are cleaning up anyone but those who disagree with them…_

I once again get those flashes to the past… but this time, it boils my blood a bit. And, I guess I got so intense in thinking at that minute, Gramps caught it easily.

"Somethin' the matter Marie?" he asks.

I snap out of it and focus on him. Not sure how I should really respond. I got the man talking, which meant now conversations were rolling. And now… the moment of truth.

"It's nothing." I just decide to say.

"Nothin'. Mmm, well… I sure got a problem." He replies.

And in that moment, my blood boiled even more and I could feel the heat in me rise.

 _Fuck._ I immediately think to myself and almost said aloud. Yep he knew. And he was getting ready to get on our case right now. I expected this however and mentally prepared myself.

"Callie." He calls over, with her quickly turning her head.

"Where were you and your sister last night again?"

I was getting pissed off at this little acting of his. He clearly had already got onto Callie probably, hence her pitiful look when I walked in. Not sure how much she said, but I knew either way, it was scolding time. And I just wanted him to get it over with.

"We went to see the movie and… we just went to say hello to some… cute guys is all. I'm sorry Marie." She said. Acting as if she had ratted me out.

In a way, I commended her acting here this time. She acted as if she had told him some other big secret. When really, us being out late was due to something that would have made Gramps much angrier than what she said.

I simply sat there and finished up the scraps of my food.

"So what is your side of the story Marie for why you two came home so late? I had called the police almost and had to hope maybe you would be back by mornin', which of course you were. Gotta crash somewhere after ya little party." He began his lecturing already.

I simply looked up, straight into his eyes. I wanted to say something far worse than what I was already planning because I was tired of this. Getting shit for doing this job that basically helps support this family the most. Even more than Grandpa's retirement benefits from the government and Callie's job. Yes, fuck me for trying to help us get somewhere in life. Back to a status like before. As I was about to answer him, I was also trying _real hard_ to keep my raging emotions from fluttering out all at once.

"Callie explained everything. I'm sorry grandfather, it won't happen again." I simply said.

"Oh really? Do I look like I'm just gonna believe th-" he immediately started to reply before being cut off.

My rage boiling had finally spilled out.

"Oh, I'm sorry for telling the truth! What else do you want grandfather? If you want to punish me, do it. I want to get to work already." I said aloud. My tone being beyond annoyed and with some other heavy emotions behind it.

"Who do you think you're talkin' to!? I am trying to be reasonable and talk to YOU! Giving you benefit of the doubt and you still have that nasty attitude." He said in defense.

I nearly started my next line with _bullshit._ But caught myself fast and restarted on my words.

"Grandpa, you know you just wanted to blame me for doing something wrong! Callie looking all frowned up before I even walked in here. You probably already talked to her about everything so why bother with me. I don't want to explain myself, because there is nothing else to explain." I begin to walk towards the sink and put my dishes down.

I nearly walked out the kitchen but grandfather called my name in a threating tone. I would've kept walking but even in my emotions, I wanted to respect grandfather to an extent and listen to him. It was a nature I had developed and I didn't want to make things worse than they seemed.

"Go to my room _now_." he says in his low deep tone.

I immediately knew what was going to happen from here.

"So I'm getting punished but Callie isn't now? She really must be your favorite. Don't know why you even bother with me…" I said harshly.

He approached me quickly and grabbed me by the wrists. I jerked back and nearly pushed him over but just stood there angrily. He wasn't the tallest man exactly.

"I told you to go!" he says loudly, before striking my backside with the palm of his hand for emphasis.

I groan at the hit and glare between him and a scared looking Callie. I was on the verge of really saying no to him this time. To just let my rage onto him. A demon within me I hadn't felt in a long time surged. It was so sudden that it scared me for a second. I felt like I really wanted to do something terrible… but that respect for my grandfather took its place again. So I pried his hands off my wrists and stormed to his room.

* * *

...

It has been quite a few minutes since Gramps told me to go to his room. I sat on his bed waiting for my inevitable punishment. I imagined he was going to give me at least one more scolding before anything else.

But as time passed, my thoughts shifted from the incoming punishment to what exactly had happened in the kitchen.

I'm always frustrated with grandfather in moments like these, and an argument is not unusual. But what was unusual was my specific emotional toll. I was out of control with my emotions. And I noticed that this lack of tolerance and anger had built over this last month.

This job I worked… Callie and I had been working in it for two years now. And had lived with our grandfather since our parents' passing even longer. So what was it that was making me snap lately…?

It bothered me now more than ever, because _something_ was triggering these feelings.

It wasn't like anything much changed. The city going to shit happened long ago. Our fame and fortune dwindling, happened long ago. Everything that had led to the downfall of our lives was old news. And nothing seemed to get any worse or better.

So… what was it that was making me feel this way?

A question I'd have to ask another moment. As just as I finished another mind monologue; grandfather walked in.

He stared at me with a cup of water in one of his old beer mugs. Of course, he could no longer use those mugs for actual beer as me and Callie forbid that for him. But yet he still loves to use the mugs for any beverage, as he had grown to live by those mugs. He used to share drinks with old comrades with those exact mugs. The memories those mugs held must have been very close to him.

It was things like that, that really gave me an idea of how his army days were.

"Marie. I just want to talk." He said patiently.

I still wasn't buying this sudden less strict tone of his.

"I don't know what it is that…" he stumbles on his words a bit and takes some sips of his water.

"I feel like… I'm sorry if I…" he still couldn't conjure his sentence.

"Grandfather, I am sorry for going and staying out too late. I truly meant it when I apologized in the kitchen. I'm not always sarcastic in what I mean." I simply tell him.

Being in my slow thoughts had calm me down, and rather than lash out again, I wanted to be honest from my heart.

But in that moment… I would be met with one of the most shocking mental blows to me in a long time and for a long time to come.

"You coulda told me, you entered that… underground weapon trade." he says blankly.

My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. One of the biggest secrets I had tried to keep from grandfather all this time. And he suddenly knew. My mind, my heart, and my entire body was overwhelmed with emotion. My immediate first thought to how he possibly knew was…

"D-did… Callie tell you?" I struggle to ask him though my confused state of mind.

"No." He said.

"You see Marie. I've been noticin' your little disappearances and weird patterns for a while now. For the longest, I did think you were out… having wild adventures with some boys or some junk. But your disappearance last night was your strangest yet. Being out for so long in the cold rain." He explained.

"So I called and asked a friend if they happened to spot you. I'd ask him to keep an eye out for you before. But he never saw anything out of the ordinary. Impressive, how well you hide yourself. Putting that ol' trainin' to use girl."

I shivered at that training comment. He had to go bringing up yet another piece of the past.

"But last night was different. He saw you both at Inkopolis Plaza. The description he gave was seeing you with someone I know. Sheldon."

 _Sheldon? No… he couldn't have…_

"Sheldon is the grandson of an old friend of mine. I had met him before a few times a while back but I could never forget such an interesting… character that kid was. Anyway, I contacted my friend just moments ago and Sheldon told me **everything** about you two. Even last night. I played dumb and old of course so it didn't sound like interrogation. And he bought it." He finished up his story.

 _Sheldon. That fucking…_ I wanted to strangle the life out of him in that moment. He practically exposed us. I had never told him the lengths I went to keep the dealing life and my family life separate… oh wait, I had. You would think with how I purposefully tried to keep Callie out alone, it would be a hint.

"Marie." Gramps calls out towards me.

"I ain't mad y'know. I honestly blame myself than you for getting into the trade. I read all about how many kids were gettin' wrapped up in it. To support their families and all that. Especially with your knowledge in your… previous little double life. I'm not surprised it's somethin' you would lean towards than a normal job."

And to make matters worse, there he had to go bringing that up _again_. My mind was an emotional train wreck at that moment.

"Grandfather I… I'm not doing anything like _that_ …" I manage to speak out.

"How can I be so sure you aren't lying to me again right now?" He questions.

"The whole point of that little job of yours is to lie right? Like you lied to me. Like you lie to the government. Do you have any idea what you've stepped into?"

"Grandfather." I snap back.

I'm going to sound like a broken record but… my mind was an emotional roller coaster. I had no idea what to say. A secret I had kept for two years, broken by the person I had worked with so closely. My grandfather was breathing down my neck with accusations. Things I couldn't exactly easily refute in my state of mind right now. And to add insult to injury, he had to bring up another part of the past. I had already struggled to keep it out my mind recently but it was hard not to think about it in relation to everything happening now.

 _I need to breathe._

I get up slowly and speak to Gramps without looking at him directly.

"I need to lay down for a moment grandfather."

"This talk ain't over. You, I, and your sister will be discussin' this further later." He says as I begin to slowly walk out his room.

I pause for a moment and then continue walking without looking back.

* * *

I was in my room now. The door was closed and I was sitting on my bed with one hand on my forehead and the other holding my phone. My phone was currently ringing and I was just waiting with intense silence for the user on the other end to answer. I had been calling this number for the last few hours and left two messages. My mind was still broken a little but it was focused on one thing now.

 _Answer the goddamn phone Sheldon._ I whisper. Not even realizing I was speaking to myself.

After all the waiting, I got a response on the other end. I could hear some ruffling in the background. Rather than immediately speak, I waited for the person who picked up to answer first. This was a habit I picked up over the years for a very specific reason. One that's better explaining another day.

After almost a full minute, I heard a voice speak from the phone.

"Hello?" I heard.

That was the voice of the person I was looking for. Which meant it was getting close to letting the emotions I had been holding out. But rather than immediately do it. I spoke softly and patiently.

"Sheldon. We need to meet. Now." I spoke clearly.

"Marie? Oh hey, funny you're calling. You'll never guess who I spoke to earlier! Also um… I was doing some typing for important work right now so maybe I can get back to you unless it's an emergency and-"

"Sheldon." I interrupted.

"Now. ASAP. No questions. No arguments. Just meet me at the usual when you can. I'll be waiting there. Bye." I hang up.

If there's one thing Sheldon knew about me, it was that when I'm serious about something; I mean it. I'm not a person who likes to waste time. Back then, it was different… obviously. Being a pop star and what not, there were a lot of dumb things I had to do to keep up with the career. In the long run, it meant jack all but I guess it was fun and thrilling since I miss all of it so much…

I don't know why it's so hard for me to admit that. Even in my own mind. Most likely because once those days were over, I buried the memories in a hole and left them behind. I did everything to not think about it and get nostalgic. Because no matter how much I miss the "good ol days"… they are not coming back. End of story. I want to move forward and make a new future for myself. I don't care to change my route just to relive the past.

And then there's the… _other side_. Gramps had to bring THAT back up into my mind. God. Sometimes I like to look back at my pop star life and I think a few looks back at that are fine. But the _other side_? I swore to myself, I would **never** look back at that. It was a traumatizing period of my life. Something I regret and never want to do again.

Yet here we are. Whether I like it or not, _all_ sides of my past continue to haunt me to this very day.

After thinking about all this, I get up and get ready to leave. Right now, I needed to have a very important word with a "friend".

* * *

 **A/N: And there we are, the end of the long-awaited Chapter 2! Once again… not the most action packed chapter of our story. But it's all in the process of development. However, this chapter raises some interesting things that will be built later. So look forward to more! Chapter 3 will start a lot differently. Alright, let me know what you thought of the chapter, would love feedback from reviews and I'll see you lovely folks later!**


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